


The Kindness of a Lollipop

by Noteventhat (Facialteeth)



Series: Halloween Fics [12]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Good Older Sibling Alec Lightwood, Halloween, Lightwood Siblings, Lightwood Siblings Feels, POV Alec Lightwood, Pre-Canon, Protective Alec Lightwood, Teenage Alec, Trick or Treating, Warlock Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:00:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27306673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Facialteeth/pseuds/Noteventhat
Summary: At fourteen, Alec and his siblings decided to sneak out together and celebrate Halloween for the very first time. Surrounded by mundane and downworlders alike, Alec was understandably on edge but never more-so than when he realized they'd accidentally walked right into Magnus Bane's home.Or pre-canon, Alec and Magnus meet.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Halloween Fics [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/830448
Comments: 15
Kudos: 149





	The Kindness of a Lollipop

**Author's Note:**

> Read on tumblr [here](https://facialteeth.tumblr.com/post/633512027314405376/the-kindness-of-a-lollipop-read-on-ao3-at).

Alec, Izzy, Jace and Max weren’t supposed to celebrate Halloween. Halloween was a mundane holiday that according to Alec’s mother was ‘pointless,’ like she thought most mundane holidays were. They celebrated a few shadowhunter holidays of their own but none of them ever looked as fun as Halloween did.

When they had been younger, too young to sneak out, he and his siblings would sit by the gates of the Institute and watch all the mundane and the downworlders go by in their costumes. They’d watch them all laugh, carrying their bags of candy. Even the adults dressed up, though they were far too old to get candy like the kids did.

Alec was never sure he understood what Halloween was about but he knew that it looked fun and he knew that they’d never be allowed to celebrate it. Halloween meant more demons. Halloween meant the downworlders were more ‘unruly’ than unusual. Halloween was a nuisance to shadowhunters and no amount of wanting to join in the fun would ever make their parents let them go out, so Alec took things into his own hands.

He was fourteen. With the addition of Jace to their family, Alec was no longer the only older sibling making choices. Jace was just as old as Alec was and if Jace had a few bad ideas… well, Alec had to go to keep an eye on them, right? Isabelle was twelve and Max was only five but they were excited to go out for halloween and Jace was excited to sneak out and do _something_.

The only problem had been costumes. It was very clear that if they wanted to go out and celebrate Halloween like the mundane and the downworlders did, that they'd have to dress up. Which is why they snuck out early and ended up stealing from a mundane store. More specifically, Izzy and Jace stole from a mundane shop while Alec stood outside, clutching Max’s hand and hoping they wouldn’t get caught. He could just imagine how mad his mom would be if she had to come pick them up from a mundane police station, especially on a night as busy as tonight.

But Izzy and Jace didn’t get caught. When they emerged from the store, they were giggling and holding an assortment of various costume pieces that Alec didn’t quite think went together. Max was very excited to wear a cape, so he ended up dressing up as a spooky cape thing- which made him run around for almost the entire rest of the night, so the cape would flare out behind him. Isabelle went as some sort of a witch, which Alec thought might be a little insensitive considering the fact that warlocks did exist but Alec saw the mundane do it a lot, so he supposed it was okay. Jace threw on a pink frilly boa with a hat he found. Alec really wasn’t sure what he was trying to go for but he declared his costume the best anyway. Alec relented to having a pair of cat ears thrown on his head but initially refused the rest of the costume pieces they’d picked out, which included a set of makeup that Isabelle had been very hopeful Alec would let her put on his face.

He said no for about ten minutes but in the end, he let her draw cat whiskers on him, just so she’d let it go. After that, they walked around for a while, enjoying the fact that they could look at everyone else, walk around and be a part of it at the same time. They’d never gotten that close to any of the Halloween festivities before and somehow, it was different seeing it up close than it was behind a gate. It was more exciting. It was a lot more fun.

They got the gist of what they were supposed to be doing pretty quick. They walked around, following the flocks of mundane who were doing the same, ducking into stores, houses and ‘haunted’ alleyways that had popped up to get candy. Izzy held Max’s hand and pulled him forward with Jace while Alec hung back, watching them from the entrance or the sidewalk. He knew he could go too but something about it still made Alec a little uncomfortable. He was happy to be out with his siblings. He was having fun but he also knew it would be his fault if anything happened to them tonight, a night when demons were bound to be around and it would be easier for a demon, or anyone really, to jump out and try to do something to them.

No, Alec had fun but he stayed back and he kept an eye on everything while his siblings went forward. He was pretty sure Jace had brought his stele but he still clutched his in his pocket, ready incase he had to use it. At every place they stopped, when his siblings finally came back to him, he’d loosen his grip on it and let it go, until they reached the next place, where he’d grab it again.

Needless to say, Alec was a little on edge with all the people around them but he was on edge every time they snuck out alone, so it wasn’t like Halloween particularly was stressful for Alec. He still had fun and when Max pulled a lollipop from his candy filled pockets and offered it to him, Alec accepted. They weren’t really allowed to have candy at home. There was no point to it but that day, Alec got the appeal. He wasn’t sure when the last time he’d had a lollipop was. He was sure he’d had one at least once but he couldn’t remember it anymore.

For all intents and purposes, that lollipop was Alec’s first that he could clearly remember and that was all Alec really needed to have a good night, that and his siblings of course. He didn’t mind standing back and watching them, as long as they were having fun and Max seemed to be having a whole lot of fun, so it was all worth it.

A couple of times, Alec crept forward when his siblings got too close to someone that gave him bad vibes. When they reached a house where they were invited inside and forced to disappear from Alec’s sight, Alec would follow them, wait by the door if he could and stay close to them if he could not.

Jace said he was worried about nothing but just because it was Halloween didn’t mean nothing bad would happen. They didn’t know these people they were taking candy from. They didn’t know the people surrounding them. If Alec was overly cautious, nothing bad would happen but if he wasn’t…. Well, Alec ignored Jace.

They’d been out for a few hours when they finally came upon the best haunted house they’d seen so far. The whole outside of the building was decorated, some of the decorations up so high that Alec had a hard time imagining how someone had even gotten them there. The door to the building was propped open, very realistic looking spider webs accompanied by mechanical spiders leading the way past gravestones and shimmering ghosts.

Alec’s siblings ran forward to disappear inside without a second thought. At first, Alec moved to follow them but ever more perceptive than his siblings were, Alec stopped in the doorway and read the plaque on the small buzzer.

‘Magnus Bane’ was all that it said but Alec didn’t need to read his full title to know exactly who lived here. Magnus Bane was the High Warlock of Brooklyn. Magnus Bane was one of the most powerful warlocks the Clave had ever dealt with. He’d flattened cities and burned shadowhunters alive and when Alec darted forward to call his siblings back, he saw that they’d already disappeared up the stairs, further into the building that was even more immaculately decorated on the inside.

Alec hesitated for just a moment before he moved to follow after them, pushing his way by decorations that jumped out at him as he moved. In Alec’s head, he tried to calm himself down. Magnus, though someone to be feared and avoided, had clearly decorated his house for people to come, the same way the mundane has across the city. They weren’t doing anything wrong and there was no reason Magnus would think they were, unless it was all a trap. Unless he was using Halloween to lure people inside and do whatever it was warlocks did when the Clave was not watching them. Maybe, he’d need a shadowhunter even more than mundanes. Maybe, they’d be worth more and Jace was the only one with a weapon besides Alec. Izzy hadn’t completed her training yet and Max was so small that he couldn’t defend himself at all.

Alec moved quicker, imagining far worse things than the plastic gore they’d been seeing all night. Alec had seen warlocks before but always in the Institute, where they could do nothing but follow the rules. In the Institute, there were too many shadowhunters around for the warlocks to do anything but here, in Magnus’ home, they would be completely at his mercy.

Alec’s parents wouldn’t even know they’d been here if they never came home. No one would. All at once, Alec knew it had been a big mistake for them to come here. He should have said no the moment Jace had suggested it and gotten Max excited for it. He should have said no before Jace had dragged them all out. He should have made them stay home but he hadn’t. He’d just wanted to see his siblings have fun and… well, Alec had thought it sounded fun too but that was so _stupid_.

Now, they were in a warlock’s home- or entrance way at least- and Alec couldn’t seem to catch up to his siblings no matter how fast he moved. Alec finally threw himself through a shimmering curtain that led into what Alec actually thought was the warlock’s house. It was a grand room, decorated just as much as the hallway had been but beyond all the decorations, it was clearly someone’s home, a warlock’s home.

Alec saw his siblings instantly. They were standing before what looked like a throne, where Magnus himself was sat. The man was dressed in some grand costume Alec’s eyes glazed over in his panic. Beyond the fog from a machine that was routinely pumping it out and the music that was playing some song about skeletons, Alec could see his brother talking to Magnus, currently holding up part of his cape to show it to the warlock in question.

Isabelle was at his side, a little tense but mostly oblivious to the danger they were in. Jace was a few steps back, far more alert than either of Alec’s other siblings. He glanced back to Alec when he walked in, his eyes a little wide but otherwise, not reacting.

Jace might not quite know who Magnus was but clearly, he’d recognized that the man was a warlock and not one of the many mundane they’d encountered tonight but even then, Jace looked far more relaxed than he should have been. He had a weapon in his pocket and he wasn’t even holding it. If Magnus did something, he wouldn't even have time to grab it.

Alec’s gaze tightened into a glare before he finally moved past Jace to his siblings. Magnus was holding out a cauldron of candy to his siblings but as Alec moved, his eyes fixed on him and a peculiar expression came over Magnus’ face, one that Alec didn’t quite know how to read.

Isabelle turned to him as he got closer, either ignoring how unhappy he looked or simply not noticing as she spoke, “Alec, look!” She said, pointing across the room to something that it took a few seconds for Alec to even turn to see.

When he looked, he saw that she was pointing to another, smaller hallway, one that even more decorated than everything they’d walked through. Clearly, Magnus liked Halloween, that or Alec was right and it was all a trap to lure some unsuspecting mundane into his liar. “Izzy-” Alec had been about to tell her they should go but Max, his hand clutching the candy he’d accepted from Magnus, was already turning to sprint towards what Izzy had pointed to. He was saying something about a wolf decoration Magnus had up and Isabelle followed after him without saying another word to Alec or even looking back.

Jace paused for a moment, glancing between Alec, Magnus and the direction Izzy and Max had headed in before he too relaxed a little and made his way over, calling Max’s attention as he pointed to something else and laughed. Alec followed them for a few steps before he stopped and simply watched, feeling all his muscles tense up and his stomach fill with that uncomfortable, sick feeling that sometimes happened when he got yelled at.

Magnus hadn’t done anything but that didn’t mean he wouldn't. That didn’t mean they were safe. That didn’t mean they should stay with the mundane Alec took notice of now who were also enjoying Magnus’ decorations, shouting thanks and then heading towards the door like he and his siblings should be. Alec could hear more mundane coming in behind them and at the very least, he was happy they’d see if Magnus did something- unless he did it with magic, unless he put up a glamour, unless he kicked them all out and locked the doors behind them, sealing Alec and his siblings inside.

Alec stood for a few minutes, watching his siblings with his jaw so tight in his mouth that when he finally relaxed, he realized just how tense he’d been. It had to have been a few minutes later when Alec heard Magnus speak next to him.

Alec jumped at the sound, turning to look at the warlock with his hand tight on the blade hidden in his pocket. He hadn’t even heard the warlock move but he wasn’t sure if he’d been distracted by his siblings or if Magnus had done it on purpose.

“I didn’t know shadowhunters celebrated Halloween,” Magnus said simply, pausing a few feet away like he saw how tense Alec was in his presence. Magnus’ eyes flickered down to Alec’s hand in his pocket but he didn’t comment on the fact that Alec was clearly holding something.

Alec swallowed, nervousness flickering up and down his spine, crawling its way up his throat. He’d never _spoken_ to a warlock before, certainly not like this, without any adults around and in the warlock’s own home. “We’re not supposed to,” Alec admitted softly. “My mom thinks it’s a stupid holiday and candy isn’t good for you and she doesn’t like that-” Alec flushed as he realized what he’d been about to say but he kept speaking anyway, not sure how else to end the sentence without just saying it. “She doesn’t like that the downworld celebrates it,” he mumbled at last.

Magnus hummed softly. “I imagine Maryse wouldn’t.”

Alec froze at that, turning to look at Magnus even though that meant his siblings were almost completely out of his sight. He could still hear Izzy and Jace laughing as Max spoke, which made him relax a little bit. “You know my mom?” Alec asked. It was kind of a stupid question. Alec’s mom ran the New York Institute and Magnus was the High Warlock of Brooklyn. It made sense they’d know each other but Magnus still spoke his mother’s name like he knew her a little more intimately than that.

“Yes,” Magnus said, a small smirk coming across his lips. “Maryse and I are rather well acquainted, unfortunately. I was surprised to find her children coming into my home on Halloween.”

Alec wasn’t sure if Magnus was upset they were there. He couldn’t tell by the way he said it but the words struck Alec with a flash of nervousness anyway. He was reminded again of why he’d wanted them to leave as soon as they could. “We didn’t know it was your home,” Alec mumbled, his words half apologetic and half nervous. He wasn’t sure if Magnus would want his apology or not.

“You probably wouldn’t have come in, had you known,” Magnus said lightly, posing his words as more of a statement than a question.

Alec wasn’t sure if Magnus was expecting a response but Alec still felt the need to respond, though he wasn’t quite sure why. “I’ve always been told not to trust warlocks,” Alec murmured, eyeing Magnus for a moment before he slowly turned to look back at his siblings. His hand was still tight on the weapon in his pocket and Magnus, at his side, still had Alec’s skin tingling with anxiety but Alec didn’t understand why Magnus wouldn’t have already done something, if he was planning on it. Now, there were even more mundane who’d come inside to see Magnus’ decorations. Before, he’d had the perfect opportunity to attack them or trap them.

“I know,” Magnus said, which for a second took Alec by surprise. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected Magnus to say but it hadn’t been that.

They stood silently for a moment before Alec glanced over to Magnus again, slowly easing his hand out of his pocket. He didn’t trust Magnus at all but… there were a lot of people around and he could grab his seraph blade pretty quick if he really needed to.

Alec’s eyes darted over to Magnus and then away one more time before he was asking, “What are you dressed up as?”

Magnus glanced at him, looking surprised Alec had spoken to him again. After a moment, he raised his hands and turned in a small circle, insisting he was some person that Alec had never heard of in his life.

“Why don’t you just use your warlock mark as a costume?” Alec asked curiously.

The moment he said it, Magnus’ face changed and Alec almost instantly regretted saying it at all. He hadn’t meant it in a rude way but Alec had always heard that downworlders did that on Halloween. It was a day that they could drop the glamour and the mundanes wouldn't know that it wasn’t just a costume.

After a moment, Magnus smiled but something about the smile was not happy. In the next moment, Magnus’ glamour fell and Alec found himself staring at two bright, golden cat eyes. Alec’s breath caught in his throat as he stared, finding them both terrifying and… strangely beautiful.

“Some people find them unsettling, even for a costume,” Magnus murmured, a smirk still present on his lips. His lips were curled in the reflection of a smile but he didn’t look happy. Something about the way he held himself told Alec that he was very unhappy.

Alec took in a slow breath. It _was_ unsettling but only because Alec had never seen a warlock mark that close. He’d seen a few tonight and some faeries, not hiding their marks but he’d seen them from a distance, not a few feet away, in the said downworlders home.

Still, something stopped Alec from moving away. The nervousness eased back and Alec found himself feeling a little guilty for a second. Magnus had clearly expected Alec to be scared of him or to jump away and something about the expression on Magnus’ face made Alec feel bad about that.

Alec frowned for a moment before a hesitant smile flickered on his face. “I think they’re pretty,” Alec offered softly, surprising himself by finding that the sentence wasn’t exactly a lie. They scared Alec a little just by how unfamiliar they were and how conditioned Alec had been to be scared of anything the downworld had to offer but beyond that, they _were_ beautiful.

Magnus’ expression shifted after Alec spoke. He looked caught off guard and then a touch pleased. Clearly, he’d been expecting a very different reaction from Alec. Maybe, he’d even been hoping to scare him away.

Magnus looked back towards Alec’s siblings, where Jace was now chasing Max through the hallway, before he was thrusting his cauldron towards Alec. “Take candy, young surprising shadowhunter. Act like the child you are for the night,” he said without looking over.

For a moment, Alec wanted to be offended. He was fourteen. He was hardly a _child_ anymore. He’d already gotten his first rune and he’d been on a mission already but… Alec spotted a lollipop in Magnus’ cauldron and after a second, he reached out to take it.

A moment later, Magnus turned to give candy to the other mundane children who arrived. Alec’s siblings stopped being so entertained by the decorations Magnus had set up and made their way back over to Alec, already pulling him out the door to go see more things and get more candy.

No demons jumped out at them that night, though Alec kept his hand on his blade more often than not and he never stopped trailing his siblings to watch out for danger. They made their way back home late that night and their parents hadn’t even noticed they’d been gone. They took off their costumes and hid them, along with all the candy they’d gotten. Alec washed the cat makeup off his face in the bathroom.

And that night, Alec thought about the fact that he had met a warlock for the first time- a warlock who, despite Alec’s expectations, did not attack them or trap them in his home to perform spells on them. A warlock who’d given his siblings candy, showed Alec his warlock mark and was surprised when Alec did not say anything mean to him. A warlock who’d insisted he take a lollipop.

Alec kept the lollipop wrapper longer than he’d have admitted to anyone. He wasn’t even sure why he kept it. Maybe, he just kept it because it was a reminder that not everything worked out like Alec expected and sometimes, you could meet a warlock with pretty eyes who’d give you candy that was not a trick at all.

Alec never forgot about Magnus, even if he pretended he did when they finally met again, years later. He also didn’t tell Magnus that he still had the lollipop wrapper under his mattress, where he hid everything he did not want his parents to find.

There was no reason Magnus needed to know that. Alec thought that would be horribly embarrassing.

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE. Feel free to leave a comment!


End file.
